Free Courses
This means that if you click on that link and purchase an item I will get a commission, at no extra cost to you!
It always amazes me that we live in a world where, a lot of us, have access to all the information we want or need. Yes, there are countries where this privilege is restricted or denied and yes, there is a lot of garbage and false information out there, but still.
We have direct access to the news. We can browse through libraries full of knowledge. We have the possibility to entertain ourselves, inform ourselves, and educate ourselves.
We can follow along with tutorials on YouTube, follow classes in online universities, and of course subscribe to free courses.
How Free is Free?
Is it free as in, let’s say, free beer? Yeah, sometimes. It all depends.
Just as the person that hands you the free beer might do this because he wants to share, but he, or she, might also want you to return a favor or buy a crate if you like the taste.
Free, online, is often of the latter kind. You can get a taste, decide if you like it and if so, buy another service, the complete product, or an additional course.
Are These Courses Worth Their Time?
Again that depends. But the courses I collect in this list are courses given by people that have earned their stripes. They share their experience and knowledge with you.
Some of the courses are from massive open online courses (MOOCs) hosted on respected platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and Udacity. Others are online courses hosted on the websites of the experts that also sell their own courses.
These will mostly be starter courses, but hey, if you are looking for intermediate and expert courses, then you already have decided that gaining more knowledge is worthwhile, so it may be time to invest a little money in your personal growth.
Don’t mistake the term starter course for superficial. These experts in their field will include valuable tips and experiences even in these introductions.
As your trainer/tutor/teacher has something to gain (in a more and more competitive market) they also know that ‘just’ an introduction won’t cut it. So even these free courses will need to stand out in quality and/or amount of useful information.
Headstart
So what is in it for you?
You will get a headstart, taking some inside information or tips and tricks based on experience, with you.
Remember, you don’t have to be an experienced expert right from the start. All it takes is having just a little more expertise. You can start offering your services even as a beginner. Just be clear about it and manage the expectations of your potential clients.
And, again, it is a free sample. Who doesn’t like free samples?
The List (of Lists)
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Free Courses to Boost Your Blog
Courses in list: 3
These free blogging courses may get you a headstart if you are a new blogger or help you boost your existing blog to the next level.
Blogging is a great way to both express yourself and create a (passive) income stream.
I deliberately placed ‘passive’ between parentheses because blogging takes a lot of hard work. Passive refers to the fact that your posts may remain on the Internet forever, and its ads or affiliate links will generate income accordingly. Now. Back to the hard work.
Even if you are a natural and writing doesn’t take you any effort at all, many different factors can contribute to your blog’s success -or failure. -
Buying and Selling
Courses in list: 1
I don’t think that the principle of buying and (re)selling needs a lot of introduction. But maybe that is exactly what makes it look deceivingly simple.
A lot of people agree with me that buying and selling is craftsmanship. Experience and knowledge will make some excel, and others fail (or keep them from reaching the next level).More about ‘Buying and Selling’ here
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Reading and Writing
Courses in list: 2
There are a lot of job opportunities when it comes to reading and writing skills. Think about jobs like transcriptionists, proofreaders, personal/virtual assistants, freelance writers, bloggers, custom support, and the list goes on.
As you are reading this, I presume that the technical aspect of reading and writing, or what we learned at school, is present.
The courses in this list are more about professional aspects.
Wrapping It Up
There are a lot of different free courses out there. I try to categorize them loosely based on the same categories I use to group the side gigs.
This list of free courses will keep growing as I add new courses to them frequently. It does, however, takes some time, so please come back for updates.
What is your experience? Do you like these courses or do you think it is a waste of time?
Let me know or share this post if you like it.
Thanks for reading! You are awesome!